The Invisible Man takes its inspiration from films like Paranormal Activity and The Sixth Sense, where ambience plays a big role in creating the mood and tone of the scenes.
In moments of silence where there is nothing on the screen but inanimate objects, the movie still manages to keep the audience in suspense waiting for something to happen.
It plays into the science fiction genre of the modern age and takes itself seriously — but not too seriously.
The film also benefits from the psychological torture displayed on screen.
Throughout the film, the camera angles deliberately show shots of empty doorways or hallways as if someone is supposed to be there but isn’t.
It plays into the theme of being invisible quite cleverly. From the moment the film begins, it brilliantly introduces how it will scare you when nothing is there.
Every little sound — whether it is the film or the people in the movie theater — will make you wonder if there something lurking in the background waiting to pop out at any moment. It plays into that fear really well.
The film is also incredibly well paced.
Not once in the film does it feel like a scene is being dragged on for too long.
It is able to keep the story alive by slowly revealing clues and hints that have the audience figuring out key details alongside the main character Cecilia Kass, who is portrayed by Elisabeth Moss.
As a result, the film wraps up very nicely, leaving a satisfying ending that also leaves the door open for future possibilities.
The film’s climax is also riveting as the buildup of all the tension and suspense is finally released for a dramatic showdown that ultimately ends in even more mystery as well as more dramatic reveals.
The only thing that holds the film back is the stale acting from mostly unknown actors.
It can sometimes take away from certain scenes that are almost laughably bad since most scenes have people being murdered by something they can’t see. Thankfully, it is not that unbearable.
It is satisfying to see Universal Pictures learn from their mistakes.
After the colossal failure of The Mummy a few years ago, the movie studio realized it couldn’t capture the same magic of a cinematic universe like Marvel.
Instead, they allowed this film to have its own identity and allowed the director to make his own film. This decision has paid off significantly.
Although the writing is very good, the film does fall into the same mistakes that so many cliché thriller films do.
This is evident in the plot holes of the film that pop up occasionally, but there are also many moments in the film that can have the audience questioning the characters’ actions.
Some scenes don’t carry the same weight as others, creating and uneven feeling for the audience.
Universal Pictures has confirmed that a sequel is being produced called The Invisible Woman.
Let’s hope that the future of the series is able to capture the surprisingly entertaining aspects that made The Invisible Man a good start for the thriller and science fiction genre for the year.
The film is able to set a tone and just roll with it.
Every scene that begins with buildup is eventually resolved into a suspenseful ending that keeps the audience gripping onto whatever is close to them.
